Tag Archives: recipes

  • Seared Ahi With Grapefruit And Fennel

    April 15, 2013

    30 Comments

    Seared Ahi with Grapefruit and Fennel.

    Seared Ahi with Grapefruit and Fennel.

    ahiMany of you know how much we like fennel here at the farm. Usually simply caramelized, or in risotto, fennel brings a light anise flavor and subtle, earthy sweetness to many dishes. We love it and think fennel is an underused and under-appreciated ingredient. So when we see a restaurant dish using fennel, we often try it out at home. And in this case, while in Kauai, we tried a dish of seared ahi with a light “slaw” of thinly sliced, barley pickled fennel and supremes of ruby-red grapefruit. It rocked, so we tried to make it at home.

    ahi5ahi6ahi7And we are glad we did. Not only because it was a delicious dish, but it served as a reminder to us about what restaurant dishes we should try to cook at home. In general, we often avoid making restaurant dishes, they tend to be complex, use purposefully esoteric ingredients and are often cooked with equipment most home cooks just don’t have. But then there are restaurant dishes that simply combine quality fresh ingredients with a few basic techniques. The resulting dish seems upscale, and it is, but anyone can make the dish if they know a few tricks. This is one of those dishes.

    ahi4ahi3All you need to make this dish is some very fresh ahi (and that may take some time to find, save this recipe for when you get it), a rocket-hot pan, a very sharp knife and some technique. The hot pan is to sear the seasoned ahi about 45-60 seconds per side (max). That is all you need, then slice the ahi to stop any cooking in residual heat.The sharp knife is to peel the grapefruit and cut “supremes” from between the membranes. This seems like a lot of work, but it takes just a few minutes and is easier than you think. Just do it over a bowl and reserve the juice. Then thinly slice the fennel (we add some radish as well). And if you have a small hand-slicer or mandolin, this gets even easier.

    ahi8ahi9To finish the dish you simply make a quick pickle of the sliced fennel and radish. Quick pickling is one of the easiest ways to quickly add flavor to a dish, you just combine sugar and salt with sliced veggies for about 15 minutes then drain the veggies. We add a splash of rice wine vinegar here as well. Then you assemble the dish. Layer the grapefruit supremes and slices of the ahi and then add a splash of the reserved juice and a bit of rice wine vinegar. Then add the pickled fennel and radish. Season and serve. And the whole thing takes maybe 25-30 minutes.

    ahi1And what do you get? A beautiful, flavorful and balanced dish that is pretty healthy, too. The light but meaty ahi goes very well with the acid of the grapefruit and the sweet, earthy crunch of the fennel and radish. It looks and tastes like a restaurant dish, but almost any home cook can make it.

    ahi10Seared Ahi With Grapefruit And Fennel:

    (Adopted from Bar Acuda in Hanalei, Kauai)

    Notes before you start:

    • You can use most types of tuna for this dish, and you do not have to serve it as rare as we do. But tuna past medium-rare gets very dry. Tuna is expensive, so if you prefer well-cooked fish, other recipes may be a better choice.

    What You Get: A restaurant-quality dish with less work than you think.

    What You Need: No special equipment required, but a hand-slicer or mandolin is always nice for slicing veggies.

    How Long? 25-30 minutes with 10 minutes of active time. This dish takes less time than you might expect. Anytime dish.

    Ingredients:

    (Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main course)

    • 1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs, cleaned (a few fronds reserved)
    • 6 small radishes
    • 1 tablespoon sugar
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
    • 1 pound fresh ahi tuna (preferably cut into a rectangle by your fish monger)
    • Kosher salt
    • Freshly ground black pepper
    • 3 tablespoons high heat cooking oil like peanut or canola
    • 1 large ruby-red grapefruit

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  • Weekly Cocktail #48: The Florodora

    April 12, 2013

    21 Comments

    The Florodora cocktail.

    The Florodora cocktail.

    What’s in a name? Well in the world of cocktails, quite a bit. We think it is safe to say that some famous drinks remain popular as much from their name as their flavor, and some excellent cocktails lost favor over time when their names no longer seemed macho quite right. Enter the Florodora (sometimes spelled Floradora), a delicious long drink that was one of the most popular cocktails of its day, only to fade into obscurity. And we are pretty sure the name had something to with it. Can you really imagine James Bond striding to the casino bar in his tux and ordering a “Florodora, shaken, not stirred”? We didn’t think so. (Not sure you would see Don Draper sippin’ a Florodora either.)

    flora3flora4Although we have no doubt that Ian Fleming, Bond’s creator, would have enjoyed the Florodora. The Florodora combines gin, lime juice, raspberry liqueur or syrup and is topped by ginger ale (or ginger beer). These are all solid cocktail ingredients, and they play very well together. The Florodora starts with the aroma of gin and lime, on the sip you get the lime plus the sweet berry and sugar from the ginger ale, but the gin and ginger spice keep the finish clean. Like most classic long drinks, these are very easy to drink. Maybe too easy.

    flora5flora6Ironically, in its day, the Florodora name was “cool”. The name comes from a famous musical “Florodora” of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that featured six attractive young women of similar stature (that wasn’t a hard sell back then either). The girls from the show were very popular in New York and legend has it that all six actresses from the original cast married millionaires. Sure, why not? But after a few years the show fell out of fashion and the name faded with it. What was once cool, soon sounded “dated” (at best). Again, we are pretty sure Frank Sinatra never ordered a Florodora. (He was a Jack drinker anyway..)

    flora7But we think the Florodora deserves a real comeback. This is a drink that is easy to make and will please a crowd. The only issue with the ingredients is choosing to use raspberry syrup or liqueur like Chambord. We make our own raspberry syrup, and it is a useful ingredient, but prefer the concentrated berry flavor and vanilla notes of the Chambord. You can also play with the gin to get more, or less, herbal flavor. We like to use a classic like Plymouth, but suggest you experiment. And maybe you can tweak the recipe enough to create your own version of the cocktail and give it a new name. Just make sure it’s a good one….

    flora2The Florodora:

    Ingredients:

    • 2 oz. dry gin
    • 1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
    • 1/2 raspberry liqueur (Chambord) or raspberry syrup
    • 3-4 oz. ginger ale or ginger beer
    • Lime wedge for garnish

    Assemble:

    1. Combine the gin, lime juice and raspberry liqueur in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until chilled and strain into a highball or Collins glass filled with ice.
    2. Top with the ginger ale, give a quick stir with a cocktail spoon and then garnish with the lime wedge. Serve.
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